Autoblog

Professional drifting series, Formula D, is trying to quickly win over fans and competitors in order to become one of the top forms of motorsport in the United States. As folks have learned in the markets this past year, though, rapid growth does not come without some giant bumps in the road. It looks like Formula D has now slid into a wall with a few of its teams. Confusion surrounding the series rule book has come to a head in discussions at Drifting.com. The rules state that any change to a vehicle's OEM suspension design must be approved by Formula D. Of course, a visual inspection of every car lined up for a run at a Formula D event proves that no one is utilizing 100% OEM suspension components. Aftermarket coilovers, adjustable control arms and urethane bushings are all-too-,common modifications seen throughout the pits. Therefore, there must be a list available to competitors outlining the approved components for all competing vehicles. No such list is available, however. That means teams have no method of verifying that other competitors are following the rules, other than the fact an entry passed Formula D's own tech inspection. Current discussion is making a case for the use of vehicle technical sheets as found in series such as SCCA Speed World Challenge to list all allowable modifications for approved competition vehicles.

One particular team lies behind the call for rule revisions, while other concerned competitors back up their request for clarification. The vocal team is the group behind the Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline, which was recently deemed ineligible for competition by Formula D. The series organizers claim the Skyline features illegal front suspension modifications by using the OEM parts off a Nissan Laurel. However, the RWD Scion tC campaigning in the series is eligible despite also using suspension parts from another Toyota vehicle that shares the same chassis. The rules become particularly unclear when other vehicles are allowed to run with obviously altered suspension setups. 350Zs have altered the mounting points of their rear axles and Chevrolet Corvettes have converted from leaf springs to coilovers. Hopefully, Formula D can learn from this tussle and develop a fair and documented method of approving vehicle,s rather than leaving everyone in the dark. Thanks for the tip MrCoolGuy!

[Source: Drifting.com]

The embargo-breaking kerfuffle surrounding the new Nissan GT-R heads Autoblog Podcast #80. The picture made its way onto the internet through a small big whoopsie at Motor Trend, leading to a flurry of embargo breaking. We offer our incisive analysis on the new car. It looks great to us, though we kind of wish the Alice Cooper headlight treatment had stayed. We'll get to see the car in the flesh in Tokyo soon. A new Skyline is earth-shattering in its own right, but not to the same degree as Toyota getting slapped around by Ford on Consumer Reports' new reliability survey. That's right, Toyota is getting some of its models branded as below average reliability and no longer will CR recommend certain models. In another surprise, Mazda's CX-9 beat out lots of tough competition to be named Motor Trend's SUV Of The Year, though we had our money on the Enclave. We'd entirely forgotten that Jaguar was even selling the X-Type cum Mondeo here, Duratec and all. Even Jaguar-specific cylinder heads and an attempt at making a baby XJ couldn't move such an ancient platform, so the plug has been pulled long after anyone stopped paying attention. Of course, we are looking at Jaguar again, now that the XF is headed for showrooms. These content points are of course bookended by our cutting wit and expert insight, 53 minutes worth.

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Click the image above for a huge gallery of shots of the new Nissan Skyline.

It finally sank in a while back that Skyline and GT-R are now two exclusive entities unto themselves. As such, Nissan has just unveiled its newest version of the Skyline to its domestic market, which is essentially the Infiniti G37 here in the States, but with an additional three horsepower, Nissan's new pop-up engine hood technology and a blind-spot monitor system.

The V36 Skyline comes with the VQ37VHR V6 engine, mated to either a six-speed manual or an electronic five-speed auto 'box that employs "Adaptive Shift Control," revising shifts dependent on driving style and environmental situations.

Four flavors of Skyline are available to Japanese consumers -- the 370GT, Type-P, Type-S and Type SP – all ranging in price and options.

We've posted Nissan's full press release after the jump for all you JDM OCD types, and there's a gallery below for your viewing enjoyment.

Safety standards are getting tougher the world over, and in Europe newish regulations require more protection for pedestrians in a collision. In the past, designers have coped with these regs by adding more square footage to the front of a car, making the hoodline higher to put more space between a pedestrian and the engine components of a car if a collision were to occur.

Jaguar developed a new way to cope with the safety question when it debuted its Pyrotechnic Pedestrian Deployable Bonnet System on its XK line of cars in 2005. The swoop-nosed XK features small explosive charges beneath its bonnet that will blow the hood up a few inches in the event of a collision with a pedestrian.

Nissan has announced that it will include similar technology on its new Skyline, although they're going with the less sensational name "pop-up engine hood". Like with the XK, the pop-up engine hood on the Skyline will allow Nissan designers more freedom in sculpting the car's nose while still meeting various safety standards in different world markets.

[Source: Nissan]

We don't know what we like most about this commercial. Is it the extremely spiffy metallic blue '72ish C110 Skyline GT? Is it the super-70s, ultra-mellow J-pop soundtrack? Or maybe it's that we find Ken & Mary to be just as irresistable today as the Japanese public apparently did in the 70s, when the commercial was a hit and the car was a big seller.

What is that they're doing on the beach, anyway? Carving wood? You decide.

Whatever the strategy behind it was, the "Ken & Mary" ad worked. We so want to go buy a 1970 Nissan Skyline now.

[Source: YouTube]

Nissan has revealed details about its next-gen V6 engines, which will first appear in the 2007 Nissan Skyline / Infiniti G35.

The 3.5L VQ35HR and 2.5L VQ25HR feature new blocks and a host of new key components. The highlights of the engines' improvements are a 7,500 RPM redline (up from 6,600 on the previous-gen VQ), a 10% increase in fuel economy, and a SULEV emissions rating.

The VQ35HR (pictured at right), as applied in the '07 G35, will be good for over 300 horsepower, but Nissan has yet to divulge an exact number. In Japan, the '07 Nissan Skyline will be available with both the 2.5L and 3.5L engines, as was previously the case. The last-gen VQ25 made 210 horsepower -- a number that will undoubtedly go up with the introduction of the VQ25HR. There are currently no known plans to use the 2.5L V6 in North America.

Key specs of the new VQs are listed in the press release after the jump, and Nissan also released audio of what the VQ35HR sounds like, which you can stream by clicking here.

The release of the details surrounding the new powerplants has prompted enthusiastic discussion over at the FreshAlloy.com forums, where Nissan/Infiniti fans have also posted some X-Ray-type shots of the 2007 G35/Skyline's new intake and exhaust systems.

Thanks Jason for the tip!

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Nissan via FreshAlloy.com forums]